A NEWTON Aycliffe construction company has opened a centre in Sheffield that has already helped boost business by 25 per cent over a short space of time.

The expansion at JDP Contracting Services was part of the business plan when a management buy-out of the company headed by Chris Hyde, managing director, was backed by a significant six-figure equity investment from UK Steel Enterprise, the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary.

The company is the largest specialist roofline contractor in the North with 22 years of experience. It employs about 40 people at its County Durham HQ in Newton Aycliffe and 12 new jobs have now been created at Sheffield.

Mr Hyde said: "We have only been established in Sheffield since last summer but growth has been even stronger than we anticipated. The move was planned to take us into new markets in Yorkshire and the East Midlands and it has already enabled us to be involved in the early stages of a five-year framework involving Sheffield City Council and to secure contracts with companies that include Kier Services, Baas Construction and SBS Group.

"There is considerable potential there for us and we already have other contracts in the pipeline with the North-East client-base growing steadily as well. We will not only be taking on more technicians but are also creating apprenticeships to help relieve the pressure of skills shortages in the industry."

The company is involved with both refurbishment and new homes projects providing everything from fascias, soffits and gutters to downpipes and cladding.

Mr Hyde said: "The UK Steel Enterprise investment was crucial in enabling us to carry out the management buyout and put our expansion plans into operation.

"It meant that we could quickly start to achieve the targets we set out in our business plan and create new jobs."

Sarah Thorpe, regional executive in UK Steel Enterprise’s Northern region, said: "The early success of the new base in Sheffield is particularly pleasing as it is situated in another of our UK steel areas and near our own headquarters. JDP Contracting Services is successfully winning new contracts and creating jobs showing that our confidence in the company has been well-founded."

The company’s advisers Tait Walker Corporate Finance introduced JDP to UK Steel Enterprise and HSBC also provided the company with working capital.